Polygonum persicaria (Vascular Plants of Lost Cove Farm)

Polygonum persicaria

Persicaria maculosa

Summary ⁴

Persicaria maculosa (syn. Polygonum persicaria) is an annual plant in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Common names include lady's thumb,spotted lady's thumb, Jesusplant, and redshank. It is native to Eurasia and present as an introduced and invasive species in North America, where it was first noted in the Great Lakes region in 1843.

Associations ⁵

Foodplant / open feeder
larva of Ametastegia equiseti grazes on leaf of Persicaria maculosa
Other: major host/prey

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / gall
embedded sorus of Bauhinus cordae causes gall of live, swollen, deformed ovary of Persicaria maculosa
Remarks: season: 8-10

Foodplant / pathogen
embedded sorus of Bauhinus reticulatus infects and damages live ovary of Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / sap sucker
adult of Coreus marginatus sucks sap of seed of Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / parasite
cleistothecium of Erysiphe polygoni parasitises live Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / open feeder
adult of Gastrophysa polygoni grazes on live, riddled with holes leaf of Persicaria maculosa
Remarks: season: 8-9

Foodplant / open feeder
larva of Pachynematus albipennis grazes on leaf of Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / parasite
sporangium of Peronospora polygoni parasitises live Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / spot causer
rather few and distant pycnidium of Phyllosticta coelomycetous anamorph of Phyllosticta polygonorum causes spots on leaf of Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Protoemphytus perla feeds on leaf (underside) of Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Rhinoncus bruchoides feeds on Persicaria maculosa

Foodplant / spot causer
epiphyllous, immersed pycnidium of Septoria polygonorum causes spots on live leaf of Persicaria maculosa
Remarks: season: 7-10
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / pathogen
sorus of Sphacelotheca hydropiperis infects and damages live ovary of Persicaria maculosa
Remarks: season: 8-9

Foodplant / open feeder
nocturnal larva of Tenthredo mesomelas grazes on leaf of Persicaria maculosa

Description ⁶

Plants annual, (0.5-)1-7(-13) dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent. Stems procumbent, decumbent, ascending, or erect, simple or branched, without obvious ribs, glabrous or appressed-pubescent. Leaves: ocrea light brown, cylindric, 4-10(-15) mm, chartaceous, base inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with hairs 1-3.5(-5) mm, surface glabrous or strigose, rarely with spreading hairs, not glandular-punctate; petiole 0.1-0.8 cm, glabrous or strigose, leaves sometimes sessile; blade often with dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, (1-)5-10(-18) × (0.2-)1-2.5(-4) cm, base tapered or cuneate, margins antrorsely strigose, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or strigose, especially along midveins, sometimes glandular-punctate abaxially. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, erect, usually uninterrupted, 10-45(-60) × 7-12 mm; peduncle 10-50 mm, glabrous or, rarely, pubescent; ocreolae overlapping or sometimes interrupted proximally, margins ciliate with bristles 0.2-1.3(-2) mm. Pedicels ascending, 1-2.5 mm. Flowers 4-14 per ocreate fascicle, homostylous; perianth greenish white proximally and roseate distally or entirely roseate, not glandular-punctate, scarcely accrescent; tepals 4-5, connate ca. 1/ 3 their length, obovate, 2-3.5 mm, veins prominent, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded; stamens 4-8, included; anthers yellow or pink, ovate; styles 2-3, connate proximally. Achenes included or apex exserted, brownish black to black, discoid or biconvex to 3-gonous, (1.9-)2-2.7 × (1.5-) 1.8-2.2 mm, shiny, smooth. 2n = 44.

Sources and Credits

(c) AnneTanne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/78746377@N00/516604786
(c) Dendroica cerulea, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dendroica/7804727628/
(c) Hilbert 1958, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/hilbert_1958/5897821834/
Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persicaria_maculosa
(c) BioImages, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22910853
(c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/5004080

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